NEWS

I nearly did not apply for this opportunity. I first heard about the trip in January and spent the next two months visiting the MOAM website and clicking on the application link without filling it out. I was filled with anxiety with the idea that I would not be able to make an impact on any of the kids’ lives in the time I was there. This was partly due to fear and a general cynicism toward short term mission work. I have been on short term missions in the past and felt unsatisfied with the work done simply because there was not enough time. I also felt completely unqualified to go on a trip such as this. However, I could not shake the feeling that God was strongly urging me to apply for the trip. I had no idea just how amazing of a trip this would turn out to be.

After the first couple of days I felt overwhelmed by the whole experience and was beginning to the feel the same anxieties. What I started to find as the first week went on was that the kids were completely warm and kind. There was beauty in building relationships with the kids and getting to know them. It was the little things that started to stand out that became the most meaningful. During the first week I joined a devo with the group of young women that I had dinner with that night. They began the devo by singing a hymn. I had never heard the song before and while I still do not know what song it was, what will always stick with me was their voices. While they were singing beautifully, it hit me that I was across the world in a cottage with a group of teenagers worshipping the same God! This was not a huge “Aha” moment, it was simply worshipping God, something I had done countless times before. Another moment like this was during a slumber party that we had with all of the guys in the village. How many times do we get to hang out with young kids on the other side of the world while watching The Rookie (a movie, incidentally, that they found incredibly boring)? I got nearly two hours of sleep as I shared my twin mattress with three different kids with one of them hogging my pillow. That was easily the best night of sleep where I got only two hours of sleep. These were the types of moments that have become the most moving and impactful.

It became abundantly clear that each moment is important and that the biggest impact that we have on others is by how we consistently live. While we only have three weeks in Rafiki, each moment is an opportunity to show Jesus to others. There were many moments where I had to choose between acting selfishly or selflessly. In every one of these moments, there were young men and women who were watching each movement I made and listening to every word I said. No matter how frustrated, excited, happy, or irritated I was in the moment, I had to put my feelings aside and act in a way that Christ commands us to be. While I clearly was not perfect in this pursuit, this focus on appreciating each moment and taking advantage of them is what has mattered. It’s when we intentionally seek out the kids that do not have very many friends and love on them, when we push kids to do more than what they know they are capable of, or when we lead by example that we have been making the biggest impact on the kids. This has been a lesson that I have found is universal and something that will mean infinitely more to me as I continue in life.​Yes, it’s true there has not been a whole lot of time to pour into the kids. However, God has clearly worked in ways that only he can and these weeks have produced more fruit than I could have ever imagined. I wish I could smack the me from a few months ago that almost succumbed to my own fears and insecurities instead of trusting the God THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE to work in ways that only He can. The beauty is that God has worked in the little moments in the short time here that has made the largest impact that has absolutely changed my life and hopefully the people who live in Rafiki and the other MOAMs in our group.